40. Ford
Ford
The band sat together in the staff room, eating the burgers they had taken as ‘payment’ and listening to the pub fill up. Ford kept his eyes on Sie, watching for any sign of her panic returning, but she looked remarkably calm, and even slipped out for a few minutes to see her friends.
“What time are we meant to play?” Ford asked Donnie.
Their manager checked his watch. “We’ve said eight-thirty until nine-thirty.”
Ford huffed. It was only eight. “Are all the ticket holders here?”
“Let me check.” Donnie nipped out of the door, a wave of noise washing over the room as it opened and closed. The pub was rammed full.
“You want to start early?” Joel questioned.
“Yeah. We’ve eaten. I’m bored sitting here. I want to play.” Ford’s knee bounced in agitation. It had been years since he’d been this keen to go out on a stage with the band.
Maybe a tiny part of him thought that if they didn’t perform soon, Sie would pull out. But mostly, he just wanted to get lost in the music with his three best friends.
“The Landlord says everyone is in,” Donnie said as he burst back through the door.
Ford turned to the others and wiggled his eyebrows. “Shall we?”
Scotty and Joel nodded enthusiastically, and Sie answered with a small bob of her head. He could see her breathing speeding up. Striding across to her, he didn’t even think; he put his hands on each side of her face and dropped his forehead so it rested on hers.
“Sie. We’re here. We’ve got your back. Forget about the crowd. This is about no one but the people in this room. We support you. We believe in you.”
Her eyes didn’t leave his, and she took a shaky breath.
Then another and another, until her breathing evened out.
He needed to keep touching her, so when he took his palms off her face, he laced his fingers through Sie's, squeezing them gently, before he led her to the door, then out into the crowded bar.
The room was full of people having a great time, and vibrating with excitement as they waited to hear the band they loved perform in the smallest venue they’d played in for sixteen years.
As he towed Sie along, he glanced over to the table the doctors were sitting at—the same one he’d joined them at for the pub quiz. He smiled when Hel made eye contact with him and waved, then nodded his head at Frost, who lifted his glass in acknowledgement.
Realisation spread across the room in a wave, as people began to notice that Midnight Thunder were walking through the tables to the makeshift stage.
Ford didn’t let go of Sie’s hand until he’d helped her step up onto the stage and she was in position, ready to pick up her guitar.
“Good evening, Burra Creek,” Ford said into the microphone. “It’s great to see you all again. I would like to introduce you to the members of Midnight Thunder. We have Scotty on drums.”
The drummer did a drum roll, then stood up and took a bow, to rapturous applause from the audience.
“Joel is on base.” He paused to let Joel have his moment.
“And on guitar, a few of you will have noticed this isn’t Ryan.
” A ripple of noise spread around the pub.
“We are pleased tonight, for the first time in sixteen years, to be playing with the original line-up of Midnight Thunder. We have Doctor Maisie Jones on guitar.”
And that was it—her full name was out there.
People in the audience were filming him. Soon, it would be all over the internet.
He hadn’t been sure if it was a good idea, but Sie was adamant. Stating it was time to reclaim the whole of her life.
A ripple of confused muttering spread around the room.
“Oh,” Ford laughed. “You guys might know her by her stage name of Sie Harrington.”
The shocked silence was broken by Sie’s friends leaping to their feet, cheering and whooping for her. She gave them a slightly embarrassed wave.
Their enthusiasm was infectious, and soon the rest of the pub were on their feet, cheering and clapping for Sie as well.
Ford stepped back from the microphone. Glancing across to Sie, he told her, “This is when you show off.”
Sie blinked back at him, then nodded, and launched into the opening bars of Summer Days, playing twenty seconds of the well-known song they wrote together.
When she finished, Ford continued talking. “And I’m Ford. I hope you don’t mind us starting early. I got bored waiting and wanted to perform for you guys.”
A cheer rang around the pub again.
“So without further ado, we’re going to play for as long as you lot will tolerate us.” Ford turned to Scotty and nodded for the drummer to start.